Clippers roll 11, with Stern's assist

They gave up two 4-point plays late in the first half. They let a 10-point lead shrink to five early in the third quarter. They let Robin Lopez roam in the lane like a runaway Brook.

Those were only footnotes. The Clippers possibly have the largest margin for error in their history. They haven't lost since Nov. 26, when New Orleans came into Staples and cavorted afterward. They squared that circle here, and now have an 11-game win streak and they and the Knicks share the second-best record in the NBA.

Not only that, they increased the combined record of the two Staples NBA clients to 31-20 when they whipped New Orleans, 93-77.

“Every game is different,” Jamal Crawford said. “Some games you land a knockout blow. Tonight we sort of jabbed our way to this win, in boxing terms.”

Most of the decisions have been unanimous. Lawler's Law has been expanded. Ten of the Clippers' 11 victims never got to 100 points at all. Five have failed to shoot as high as 40 percent from the floor. Seven have shot fewer than 20 free throws. And five were home teams. The Clippers just finished cruising to road victories at Chicago, Charlotte, Milwaukee and Detroit by five, six, 26 and 12 points.

“The communication on defense has been very key,” Matt Barnes said. “A lot of it is talking, but most of it is trust. We didn't do well early in this game, when we let them inside the paint too much, but we got it straightened out as it goes along.”

In the process, Coach Vinny Del Negro continues to talk about “the process.” He was inspired to comment that the Clippers have progressed to the point where they can “win ugly.” He, of course, is greeting all this winning with tight lips and an overheated computer, and pointing out all the flaws. This is natural and probably wise. But there's lots of legitimate “ugly” in the NBA, and ugly is what's you get when a Hornet merges with a Pelican.

New Orleans ranks 30th, or dead last, in 3-point percentage defense and 28th in points per game. It starts two rookies — first-overall pick Anthony Davis, and Austin Rivers — and has won twice since Nov. 9.

The Hornets, who will reach way back into the ABA archives and change their name to the Pelicans, are 26-64 since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, which began last Christmas Day.

And what happened shortly before that lid-lifter? If you've forgotten, ask Mitch Kupchak.

Chris Paul, who got to 5,000 career assists with a typically clever feed to Blake Griffin, took the Hornets to the playoffs in 2010-11, where they gave the Lakers an argumentative first-round series. At that point the club was under the auspices of the NBA. New Orleans had arranged a trade with the Lakers and Houston that would bring Pau Gasol to the Hornets and send Paul to the Lakers, thereby ensuring a lifetime supply of Lawrence O'Brien trophies.

However, Commissioner/steward David Stern stopped the trade for reasons that remain known only to him. Then he allowed the Clippers to get Paul in exchange for Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu and a first-round draft choice.

This might have the most cataclysmic deal-and-no-deal since Jerry West shipped Vlade Divac to Charlotte to get Kobe Bryant.

With Paul, the Lakers make a strong run at last year's NBA championship and avoid the makeover madness that has spilled over into this season. Mike Brown likely remains as their coach. Andrew Bynum could remain, too, since his production would have undoubtedly risen thanks to Paul's care and feeding.

The Clippers might have made last year's playoffs, too, but not if Gordon had gotten hurt, as he did in New Orleans.

Instead, the Clippers combined Paul's arrival with some truly impressive dealing and are an honest-to-goodness threat to get to the NBA Finals, especially if you remember how well they dealt with Oklahoma City at times last season.

And the Hornets, now property of Saints owner Tim Benson, are no closer to competence.

“When you have somebody like Chris Paul, it's not really about his scoring or his passing or his defense, it's about him being a competitor,” Lamar Odom said. “He does a lot of things on the court, but a lot of what he gives us is through his social skills. He brings the whole thing together.”

Another sign of victory was the presence of owner Donald T. Sterling, leading the Clippers in a hip-hip-hooray.

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.